anderson



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1. L. ANDERSON.

RAIL JUINT.

No. 363,040, Patented May 17, 1887.

www2' X (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

L. ANDERSON.

RAIL JOINT. No. 363,040. Patented May 1'7, 1887.

UNTTnn STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LEE ANDERSON, OF PARIS, TEXAS, ASSIGNOR OF ONETHIRD TO FRANK FITZHUGH,OF SAME PLACE.

RAIL-JOINT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 363,040, dated May 17,1887.

Application filed March 5, 1887.

To all whom, it 71mg/ concern:

Beit known that I, LEE ANDnnsoN, of Paris, in the county ot' Lamar andState of Texas, have invented eel tain newand useful Improvements iuRail-Joints, of which the following is a speciticaion.

My invention relates to an iml'n'omment in rail-joints, and itconsistsin a novel construction and arrangement of parts, as hereinafterfully set forth and claimed, whereby I secure a simple, cheap, andeftieient fastening for the adjacent ends of the rails.

In the drawings, Figure l is a perspective view of my improved jointlooking from the inside; Fig. 2, a similar view looking from theoutside; Fig. 3, avertical transverse sectional view; Fig. 4, asectional view on the line x x of Fig. 3; Fig. 5, a perspective view ofthe parts separted, and Fig. G a modification of the bolt or pin.

A Aindicate two rails which are to be conneeted, B and O, respectively,the iuncr and outer fish-plates, and D D the bolts or pins passingthrough the rails and plates.

The bolts or pins D, as shown in Figs. 3 and 5, have, preferably, acylindrical body, e, and heads b and c, which are made ellipticalorenlarged in any other suitable manner.

The sh-plates D C each comprise an upright portion, d, and a lateral orbase portion, e, the upright portion being provided with 0blong orelongated holes f to correspond with and nt the heads b c ot' the bolts,while the lower or base portion may, and preferably will be, providedwith holes g, to permit spikes to be driven through them. The plates arefurther provided on their bottom faces with a recess, as at 71, forminga shoulder, t, so that when applied to the rails and spiked in placethey will tit snugly against the lateral web or feet of the rail, andhelp sustain the lateral strain to which the rails are subjected; As theflange of the wheels is on the inner face of the rails, the latter arecrowded outward, and hence it :may not be necessary to recess both ofthe plates, or even one of them, though I prefer the construction shown,because of the greater rigidity afforded thereby. It will thus be seenthat the plates B C are duplicates of each other, except in oneparticular, and that is that in one plate, C, of the drawings, the

Serial No. 220,927. (No model.)

oblong holes f have their longer axis horizontal, while in the other, B,the longer axis is vertical.

In the upright web of the rails are cut openings or holt-s j, which willbe elongated, not only for the purpose of allowing the bolt D to passtherethrough, but also to allow the rails to expand and contract withoutaffecting tliejoint.

\Vith the parts thus constructed it is only necessary to place the plateO up against the sides of the two rails to bejoined so that theholesfandj will register, and insert the bolts D through said holes.Vhen inserted far enough to allow the inner face oftheheads b and c tocome, respectively, in line with the outer face of plate O and the innerface of the rail, said bolt is turned or rotated a quarter-revolutionaboutits axis, thereby bringing the longer axis of the heads of thebolts to a vertical position or at rightangles to the oblong holesin therail and the plates C, as shown in Figs. 2, 3, and 4. Vhen in thisposition,it will be seen the bolts cannot be withdrawn without givingthem a partial revolution and bringing the heads I) and c into ahorizontal position, so as to pass through the holes in the plate O andthe rails.

rlhe form ofthe heads and their arrangement relatively to the body ofthebolt is such as to tend to keep the latter' in the position shown inFigs. 1, 2, and 3, and this is further insured by making the distancebetween the heads b c to correspondvso exactly with the thickness of therail and the plate O that as the boltis turned or rotated to bring it tothe locking position it will bind the plate C and the rails closelytogether, and oft'er sufficient resistance in turning to hold it in thedesired position. To provide, however, for positively locking the boltsin properposition, the plate 3 is provided with the holes fto receivethe ends of the bolts when the latter are in their locking position andprevent their assuming such a position as would enable them to bewithdrawn.

The plate B tits snugly up against the rails in a manner similar toplate O, and when in proper position it is spiked down to the tie, asshown in Figs. 1 and 3.

From the foregoing construction it will. be

IOO

seen that it will be impossible to remove the bolts D 4Without firstturning them to bring their heads in line with the opening in the rail,and that in order to do this the inner plate, B, which tits over theheads @,must first be removed.

It is of course immaterial whether the slots or holes f in the plates Band C be at an angle to each other, as shown, or whether they have thesame direction. In the latter case a bolt such as shown in Fig. 6, withthe headsb c at an angle to each other, wouldbe employed.

The form or construction of the slots f and the bolts D may be variedconsiderably without departing from the spirit of my invention, whichconsists, broadly, in the combination, with the slotted rails, of boltshaving enlarged heads and fish-plates upon the opposite sides of saidrails, one of said plates being clamped to the rails by means ofthebolts and the other serving to prevent the bolt from being turned tobring its head in line with the slot in the plate which it holds inplace.

The holes g for the spikes will preferably be so arranged as to permitthe spikes in being driven through the plates to touch the edges of therails, as shown in Fig. 3, so as to assist directly in holding the railsin place upon the ties, as well as securing the fish plates in position.

I am aware that it has been proposed to employ in a rail-joint twofish-plates having elongated holes, a bolt having enlarged heads to passthrough the holes in the iishplates and rails iand to be turned to bindthe fish-plates to the rails, and. to employ in connection with such adevice a separate and independent keyplate adapted to tit over and uponone end of the bolt, said keyplate being retained in place by means ofkeys passing through bolts se.

cured to one of the fish-plates, and this construction I disclaim. Myplan differs from this in that the extra key-plate or other specialfastening device is rendered unnecessary, thus enabling me to securewith but two plates a joint equally as strong as othe'rs of whichI amaware, and which obviates the necessity of using keys, wedges, or nutsfor securing the parts together.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is- 1. In combinationwith the slotted rails A A', a plate, C, provided with elongated holes,bolts D,provided with enlarged heads to bear upon the plate C and theweb of the rails, substantially as shown, and a second plate, B, to tupon the heads of the bolts opposite to the plate C.

2. Incombination with the slotted rails A A', a plate, C, provided Withelongated holes, bolts D, having Venlarged heads to clamp the plate G tothe web of the rail, and a second plate, B, applied to the heads of thebolts on the side of the rails opposite to` plate C.

3. In combination with slotted rails A A,an L-shaped plate, C, providedwith elongated holes f, bolts D, having enlarged heads b c a distanceapart equal to the thickness of the plate and the Web of the rail, andan L-shaped plate, B, fitting upon the heads c of the bolts, allsubstantially as shown.

4. In combination with the slotted rails A A and the bolts D,havi11genlarged heads b and c, a plate, C, clamped to the rail by the heads band c, bearing, respectively, against the outer face of the plate C andthe upright web of the rails, and a plate, B, applied to the heads cofthe bolts.

5. In combination with rails A A', having slots j, bolts D D, providedwith heads b a, plates B and O,provided each with an upright flange, d,to bear against the upright web of the rails, and provided With holes f,and a flange, e, to rest upon the lateral web ot` the rail and to extendout beyond the edge of the latter, and provided with holesg in line withthe edg of the rails.

6. In combination with the slotted rails and the bolts D,having enlargedheads, the plates B O,ha'ving elongated openings, (the openings in oneplate being at an angle to those in the rail,) and provided, also, withholes g in line with the edge ofthelower ange ofthe rail,sub stantiallyas shown,whereby the spikes driven through said holes g are caused toimpinge against the angeof the rail and hold the plates firmly in properposition.

In witness whereof Ihereunto set my hand in the presence of twowitnesses.

LEE ANDERSON.

Witnesses:

WALTER S. DODGE, ANDREW PARKER.

